Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Many of my friends have recently passed some milestone birthdays so I guess that always makes me feel older too. And, with it comes stories of failing health in some form or another. Do we just neglect ourselves in all that we have to do, do we overdo things because our bodies are what they used to be or is it "just getting old"?

I've tried to keep remember what some doctors have told me about my Alzheimer's. That they are hoping with the drugs out there today and some to come on line soon, that their hope is for people like me to die of something else rather than the Alzheimers. Of course, I hope this is true as the downward spiral for someone with Alzheimer's isn't exactly pretty. But some other diseases are not either.

Spring has sprung in the south and with it comes the dreadful pollen. I have never seen it this bad although my husband says it has been. I suffer from allergies and when you can't go outside because the pollen is so thick in the air it is bad. The range for the pollen is up in the 5000 range (whatever that means) and if you consider that the "high range" is 150, you realize how bad it is. The streets, cars and any surface outside are covered with this yellow green dusting. I remember when I was playing tennis with this pollen that you can see where the ball bounced because it would leave a mark in the pollen. We are hoping for rain to help clear some of it out.

I'm having some circulation problems in my left leg so am going to the hospital for some tests tomorrow. The name of the test is too long for me to remember, but they will basically be shooting dye up my leg to watch the flow of it. The doctor thinks I have lymphodema -- which isn't life threatening -- more of a pain and a nuisance.

On a lighter note, my son and his girlfriend are in Hawaii on his spring break right now. Ever since moving to California they have wanted to go since it is a lot cheaper if you are starting out in California. I hope they have a good trip. They have both worked hard to get there.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

from Minneapolis. It was really cold up there! Our team won two games and now they are on to the Sweet Sixteen in Dallas. I'm going to have to bypass that trip -- it is just too hard for me. Thankfully, I had my husband and some other good travel companions with me on this trip to help me get through.

I'll post some photos soon. Thanks for everyone's comments. I promise to post more when I get some rest.

In asnwer to someone's question, I am 51 years old and I was diagnosed at 46.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

This weekend my husband and I are travelling with some other people to go to Minneapolis. We are following the women's basketball team from the University of Georgia in their first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament. He wasn't going to go originally but decided to. That's good for me because it helps to have him along on trips. It's hard for me to do some things with others without him around. Or, I just don't feel like I can do them without some assistance and he is there to provide that. It will probably do us so some good to get away. I think I'm taking my ice skates. Although, I have wondered whether I could take them on the plane as a carry on. Do you suppose the blade on the skate would be considered "a weapon". I guess I better check with the airlines.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

I feel like I am at a crossroads in my life. And, I can't find the right words to express what I'm feeling. It's very frustrating. That is partly the reason that I haven't entered anything into this blog lately. I'm just confused and it is hard to explain. It's hard to ask for help when you can't describe what you are feeling. Hopefully, this too shall pass.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

I have had somewhat of a "writer's block" lately so I apologize for not blogging more lately. Soemtimes it is just hard for me to come up with the right words.

When I was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's I made it a mission of mine to get into scrapbooking of some sort. I had lots and lots of photos and they were catalogued or captioned and you probably know the drill. It was always something I was going to get to. Well, I decided that while I could still remember some things I would really work at getting all those photos and kid's drawings and momentos in a scrapbook. It took me several months but I finally got caught up. I was relieved when it was over, because at least I knew that my family would have some memories of our life even if I couldn't remember it.

My project of late has been to work on a scrapbook for a friend of mine. It is a secret so I won't go into who it is for and what the purpose is, but since I know this person doesn't read the blog I think it is pretty safe to talk about it in general terms. I have solicited letters, stories and photos from friends to include in the scrapbook. At times, I feel a little guilty in reading all the letters and stories about this person's life because they are so personal. But at the same time, I am taken back by how much this person has meant to so many people during their lifetime. You never really know what kind of an impact one person has on another until you read stories about them. We take that kind of friendship for granted too often.

I look back and I can pinpoint several people during my lifetime that changed the way I am (was) and sometimes it is not the people you expect that change your life. I'm not sure when I was growing up we called these people Mentors like we do today, but just the same they are important in our lives. Sometimes we don't realize what an impact they had on our lives until way after the fact. If there are people in your life that have affected you for the positive, let them know it, before it is too late. There's no time like the present.

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About Me

I was diagnosed with Early On Set Alzheimer's when I was 46 years old. I am now 61 and working in Advocacy to help fight this disease. I speak on a local and national level about dealing with Alzheimer's while living it. Hopefully, my perspective can and will help others.